A Yellowhammer sang from the Hawthorn bush close to the reserve entrance, the sun feeling warm on my face.
It was though a big surprise that within seconds of walking onto the site I disturbed a small butterfly, it flew a short distance and settled on a cowslip. My first Duke of Burgundy of the year.
I moved closer trying to get the better view, from this I could see that this was a male as it only has four legs.
It soon became clear that there were lots of Dukes about. In a short while I had seen at least ten, and then you begin to doubt whether the next one you see was in fact an additional one. The males were avoiding the flowers, and settling on the old leaves or grass to open the wings and warm up. The morning had been a little hazy and the sun was still trying to burn off the cloud but there was radiation about that was warming.
The Duke of Burgundy is the sole representative of a subfamily known as the "metalmarks", since some of its cousins, particularly those found in south America, have a metallic appearance. A curious characteristic of this subfamily is that the female has 6 fully-functional legs, whereas the male has only 4 - the forelegs being greatly reduced. The Duke of Burgundy was once classified as a fritillary, given the similarity with those fritillary species found in the British Isles.
On the under wing there are some larger white spots. As the butterflies were settling on the grass with wings open, this was difficult to see.
The Dukes would appear, and I would take the photographs.
The “Duke” is single brooded with adults flying from late April to early June on limestone grassland in the south. Eggs are laid on the underside edge of food plant leaves, usually in small batches of up to 8. Females tend to select plants that are prominent amongst the surrounding vegetation, though smaller plants can be used where they grow abundantly on chalk downland.
The larvae feed at night and produce distinctive feeding damage on the leaves comprising a peppering of small holes or panelling, leaving the midrib and veins intact. They pupate in well-concealed areas 2-5 cm above ground among dense tussocks of fine grasses where they pass the winter.
As well as the Dukes, there are other special butterflies that appear at this time of year. I had already seen Holly Blue in the garden, but here there were four individuals all interacting with each other in the usual spot where there is a group of Holly Trees. They are difficult to pin down, and today was no different, but I finally managed to get on sat high up in the trees.
What I was hoping for was to find Green Hairstreak. They favour Juniper, and there is plenty here, I beat the bushes but nothing was giving. Finally the sun cam out in full, and I saw one fly up and settle high in the Juniper. I waited, threw a few stones but nothing re-appeared.
I stuck at it, watching all the bushes and then finally two appeared dueling, then at least another two more. They were very active, but finally one settled in a position where I was able to get an acceptable photograph.
I also managed a brief view of a Dingy Skipper nut it was gone as fast as it appeared, so it was left to the main event, the Duke of Burgundy to see me out. This one sat nicely on a grass stem.
Until next year, ad may the weather hold!
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